Commonwealth Club: Ben Wikler With Bradley Whitford: How to End America’s Meltdown and Save Democracy

Wisconsin was written off by many Democrats after the GOP gained total control over the state’s executive, judicial, and legislative branches. For a while, the state—once known for clean government and transparency—became a national symbol of a highly gerrymandered state. But the Democrats figured out how to win, and they slowly and methodically rebuilt their power, regaining the governor’s office, cutting into legislative majorities, and are now on a run of consecutive landslide election victories for Democratic-leaning state supreme court justices, who are in the majority. How did it happen?  Get an inside look when Ben Wikler visits Commonwealth Club World Affairs. Wikler, who has been hailed as the “preeminent state party chair” by Nancy Pelosi, led Wisconsin Democrats through a series of hold-your-breath fights against right-wingers that resulted, against the odds, in the unrigging of the political system of the most divided state in the nation.  Now, he draws on decades of experience in everything from school-board races to presidential elections to bring people inside the hidden web of power that shapes their lives. At every step, he shows what individuals and small groups can do to help build a future where democracy thrives and our country works for everyone. Join us as he draws on that experience and his new book This Is the Plan, an idealistic-yet-practical guide to turning the present crisis into a better future.